“I am proud to nominate three well-qualified candidates to serve on the Massachusetts Superior Court,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “Mike Callan, Karen Green and Gavin Reardon will bring a strong worth ethic, professional demeanor, and tremendous experience with the Massachusetts legal system to our Superior Court bench if confirmed by the Governor’s Council.”

“Superior Court Justices are an integral component of the criminal and civil legal communities which they preside over,” said Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito. “These three nominees are prepared to work hard in order to serve both the Commonwealth and their respective counties with dignity and pride, if confirmed.”

Applicants for judicial openings are reviewed by the statewide Judicial Nominating Commission and recommended to the Governor. All judicial nominations are subject to the advice and consent of the Governor’s Council.

"I am grateful to the Governor for nominating these three outstanding lawyers, with their excellent credentials and varied backgrounds and experience, to the Superior Court,” said Superior Court Chief Justice Fabricant. “I am confident that, if confirmed by the Governor's Council, each of them will contribute greatly to the Court's mission of providing quality and timely justice to the public."

The Superior Court is comprised of 82 justices in 20 courthouses across all 14 counties and is a statewide court of general jurisdictions that handles a broad variety of civil litigation in matters of contract, injury, civil rights, and others with amounts in controversy exceeding $25,000. In addition, the Court oversees criminal matters including homicide, sex offenses, robbery, and financial fraud. Approximately 65% of the cases are civil lawsuits and the remaining 35% are criminal proceedings.

Attorney Michael K. Callan has over two decades of legal experience, currently serving as a partner at Doherty, Wallace, Pillsbury & Murphy, P.C. in Springfield, MA, where he handles a variety of complex civil litigation for the firm, including corporate, business and construction disputes, as well as zoning and large tort cases. He also currently serves as Town Counsel to Longmeadow, Ludlow and Hampden. A graduate of Boston College, where he earned magna cum laude honors, and of Boston College Law School, Mr. Callan worked as a clerk for the Superior Court after law school. Attorney Callan has done extensive volunteer work, including six years as counsel to the Suburban Amateur Football League; four years as President of Longmeadow Youth Football Association, Inc. and several years as counsel to Longmeadow ABC, Inc., an organization devoted to promoting opportunities to inner city youth. He also volunteers, providing legal guidance to patients at the Noble Hospital, Lawyer for the Day in Hampden County Probate Court and Springfield School Volunteers Program. Callan is a lifelong resident of Western Massachusetts and currently resides in Longmeadow.

About Karen F. Green

Attorney Karen F. Green is currently a partner at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP in Boston where she concentrates on complex business litigation, including white collar criminal investigations and litigation. She has more than three decades of legal experience in both the private and public sectors and has participated extensively in numerous bar and community activities. Ms. Green began her career clerking for US District Court Judge W. Arthur Garrity, Jr. in Boston, before working as a Litigation Associate, Junior Partner and Senior Partner at Hale and Dorr. Ms. Green also worked as an Assistant US Attorney and Deputy Chief of the Civil Division at the US Attorney’s Office, as Chief of Staff to Governor Bill Weld, and as Deputy US Attorney. She is a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard/Radcliffe College, where she earned a degree in Sociology, and a cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School. Born and raised in Somerville, MA, Ms. Green is the daughter of a police officer and currently lives in Brookline.

About James Gavin Reardon

Attorney James “Gavin” Reardon, Jr., who has over thirty years of legal experience, currently owns and operates his own firm, Reardon Law Firm in Worcester, MA, and is “Of Counsel” to the Worcester law firm of Milton, Laurence and Dixon. He is a graduate of Trinity College and Georgetown University Law Center and began his career working at Reardon & Reardon, with his father, before establishing his own practice in 1999. Gavin Reardon has significant experience in both criminal defense and civil personal injury litigation. He is certified by the Committee for Public Counsel Services to represent indigent criminal defendants in murder cases and by the Criminal Justice Act Panel to represent indigent clients charged with crimes in Federal Court. He lectures in the field of law office technology and electronic evidence. He is a long time Co-Chair of the Worcester County Bar Association Law Office Technology Committee. A resident of Shrewsbury, where he lives with his family, Attorney Reardon is also a past president of the Worcester Bar County Association and is a Region 10 Delegate to the Massachusetts Bar Association and a long-time member of the MBA Executive Management Board.